Vacation and boards

06-19-2012, 01:02 PM

So I am going camping up and down the California coast and was thinking of bringing one of my firewire surfboards with me. My question is will it be bad to leave that board
in the car during our camping experiences? It will be in the 90-100 degree temperatures in some of the places we are going. What do you think?

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It's a massive risk but I've done it a few times at the peak of the Australian Summer - (Struth that's hot!)
I couldn't say I'd recommend it but no issues so far.
I take it out of the board cover, board my board cover over the top and then a picnic rug we have that has a rubber base on it - the rubber base seems to block a lot of direct heat - then have a couple of windows down a little.
I have a sedan so it's only the nose down to a third of the board exposed to sunlight - this probably makes a difference.

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Yeah agree with the other guys on here, make sure your windows are open just enough to let the heat out, I also put up those sun shade thingos on the windscreen & the side windows on the board's side of the car! I generally leave the board in its silver reflective cover but not sure if that helps, so far I have been lucky but I would'nt do it for extended periods if I can help it!

I am going to bring an epoxy 8'6" and might just live with that for a few weeks as that thing is pretty beat anyhow. Thanks for all the advice as I do not want to risk it with all my super nice boards.

windows cracked, park in shaded, also throw a towel or two over the windows facing south so sun doesnt shine in on the dash creating additional heat. you may want to bring a thermometer with you to see what temp it hits in the car midday

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If you have a van with a bed, then make a space for your boards under your bed. I do this, and because I am paranoid I have often left a theromometer under the bed to measure max heat throughout the day. On the hottest summer, full sunny day while I was at work the most it got up to was 35c. In the front of the car it was 50+. I leave my whole quiver in the van all the time so I am always ready for a sneaky surf.

I should note that the side windows are blacked out which also helps a bit

yeah all good advice. Leaving a board in the car of any kind is a little bit of a risk but so long as you are near the water, you leave the windows cracked and consider getting a reflecting shield for your windshield, i think you'll do pretty well...